This has not been seen for years – Finland has seven medal candidates for the European Athletics Championships

As expected, Finland was left without a medal at the World Championships in Oregon, which ended on Monday. On his best day Oliver Helander could have finished in the top three, but the top talent, who is still looking for a good basic level, still paid lessons in his first adult competition final.

A year ago, at the Tokyo Olympics, Finnish general athletes achieved a total of five final places, three points and a total of six points. The last time Finland reached the same number of final places was at the World Championships in Beijing in 2015.

In Oregon, the positive trend continued even further. There were no less than six Finns in the World Cup final, which is the most at the World Cup or Olympic level since the 2005 Games, when there were nine athletes who made it to the final.

For a long time, Finland relied on javelin men in the World Championships or the Olympics. In Tokyo, the most promising thing was that two of Finland’s three points were achieved by someone other than the javelin man (Wilma Murto and Top Raitanen). The last time there was more than one point in something other than the javelin was 17 years ago at the World Championships in Helsinki.

Pole vaulter Wilma Murto and javelin thrower, who finished sixth, achieved points at the World Championships in Oregon Lassi Etelätalothe seventh-place shot putter Silja Kosonen and javelin thrower Oliver Helander, who finished eighth. The four points achieved by Finns is also the most in 17 years, when six Finns made it to the top eight.

The moukari thrower also reached the finals Krista Tervo and a triple jumper Kristiina Mäkelä.

Final places and points are, however, secondary issues in the eyes of a large sports audience. Like the new head of the Olympic Committee’s elite sports unit Matti Heikkinen stated in his opening speech that medals are still important to Finns. And they will be within reach in three weeks at the European Championships in Munich.

When you look at how the Finnish all-around athletes fared in the World Championships among the Europeans, the situation is very fascinating when thinking about the European Championships in Munich.

When non-European athletes are removed from the results lists, there were as many as four Finns in the top three. Mäkelä was the second best European in the women’s triple jump with a result of 14.18. Third place went to Murto, Kosonen and Etelätalo.

Of the four, Murro’s final score of 460 in particular has been hard currency from one EC final to another. With Kosonen’s qualifying result of 72.15, they are fighting for a medal at the EC level.

Mäkelä was also the second best in the qualifying, where he jumped his record 14.48. In Europe, the level of the women’s triple jump was not dizzying this summer.

For example, in the World Cup qualification, only seven out of 13 Europeans crossed the 14-meter mark. Qualified in second place from the leapfrog final Senni Salminen was the fourth best among Europeans with a result of 14.21. In the women’s triple jump at the European Championships, we may well see two Finnish women on the podium.

In the women’s moukari, Tervo was the fifth best among Europeans. The SE woman’s potential is indicated by the fact that her qualifying result of 73.83 was the longest European throw of the entire Games.

Big changes have taken place in the sport in recent years, when the experienced champions have either retired or declined. A Polish legend Anita Wlodarczyk is on the sidelines for the rest of the season due to an injury.

Women’s moukari is undergoing a transitional phase in European terms. Both Tervo and Kosose, who perform well in the prestigious competitions, have a place to attack in the European Championships.

If everything goes well, there are also chances for two medals in the men’s javelin. However, it is not that likely, because the Czech Republic Jakub Vadlejch and Germany Julia Weber have been really reliable this summer.

They finished fourth among the Europeans Aleksi Ojala in a 35 kilometer walk and Alisa Vainio at the marathon. Among them, Ojala, who is in SE condition, can hit the jackpot on a good day. However, he cannot be considered a medal favorite, because it is a very unpredictable sport. At the World Championships, Ojala was about two and a half minutes behind the third best European.

Vainio is ranked 20th in the European statistics. The European result of the World Championships speaks volumes for the fact that many strong European competitors focused on the European Championships instead of the World Championships. If Vainio recovers enough from his trip to the World Championships, he can fight for the points in the European Championships.

Set a Finnish record in the semifinals of the women’s 400-meter hurdles Viivi Lehikoinen goes to the European Championships as a strong favorite for the finals. In terms of medals, he is still a contender, but in Oregon he was second in the semifinals, a tolerable 36 hundredths away from the best European. Dutch Femke Bolin there’s a big flat bunch behind, where on a good day anyone can stretch for medals. Also Lehikoinen.

On the other hand, one of the enduring names of Finnish athletics in recent years is, for example, the long jumper Kristian Pullia high jumper Ella Junnila and a high-speed echo Elmo Lakka are far from the top positions.

However, for the European Championship level, the Finnish athletics team currently has a lot of both top skills and breadth, so Munich will have the biggest points pot since the 2002 European Championships. At that time, the Finns reached 46 points.

Based on the results of the World Championships, Finland has several medal hopes for the European Championships. Even if there is one more European from outside the World Championships, it will not change the big picture. Medal favorites are Mäkelä, Murto, Helander, Salminen, Tervo, Kosonen and Etelätalo. Ojala and Lehikoinen enter the medal fight as challengers.

With the exception of Kristiina Mäkelä, the Finns did not advance to the final with their records. It tells about the good basic level of Finnish athletes. It has its value in the value competition final.

Although Finland’s EC prospects look delicious, Sweden and Norway also seem brilliant.

If EC medals had been awarded at the World Championships, Norway would have taken six medals, Sweden five and Finland four.

Among the Swedes, pole vaulters reached the top three in Europe Armand Duplantisa shot putter Fanny Rooslong jumper Khadi Sagni and a race walker Perseus Karlstrom no less than twice.

As for Norway, the situation looks even wilder. In the corresponding statistics, six athletes reached the top three, of which Jakob Ingebritsen could do it twice.

In addition to these, Norway has missed the World Cup in its mothballs Line Kloster. The 400-meter hurdler, who is aiming for EC success, is ranked second in this season’s European statistics.

However, on the eve of the European Championships, Finland should not be ashamed. That’s how ticklish the situation is with the European Championships in mind.

The European Athletics Championships will be held in Munich from 15 to 21. August.